Illustrators and their influences at Norman Rockwell Museum

By Alexander Stevens, Daily News Correspondent

Sunday

Aug 12, 2018 at 3:00 AM

STOCKBRIDGE - The great American illustrator N.C. Wyeth, raised on a farm in Needham, is one of the titular stars of “Keepers of the Flame: Parrish, Wyeth, Rockwell, and the Narrative Tradition,” on exhibit through Oct. 28 at the bucolic, tranquil and must-see Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge.

Curated by Dennis Nolan, the exhibit takes a look at the art form of American illustration, and Wyeth takes his rightful place in the front row. “Narrative painters” are sometimes viewed as second-class citizens of the art world, but the exhibit reminds us that these talented illustrators were highly trained and deeply rooted in traditional painting, an education that brought depth, heft and technique to their illustrative work.

“Keepers of the Flame” also reveals the profound influence of the mentor-student relationship, as works by Parrish, Wyeth and Rockwell hang alongside the art of their lesser-known but highly gifted instructors and protégés. The connections are sometimes fascinating, as we see how artists borrow from their mentors en route to finding their own voice and vision.

That’s probably a piece of Needham, and part of Wyeth’s childhood, that you see in “The Scythers.” The oil painting comes from early in Wyeth’s career; he was just 24 when he painted the illustration for Scribner’s Magazine in 1906.

Capturing two scythers at work in a field, the scene likely sprang from Wyeth’s memory of a rural (pre-Route 128) Needham we no longer know. In the background, one worker takes a break, sipping from a ladle of water brought by a young girl. In the foreground, the other man sweeps his scythe, his muscular forearms glistening in the golden summer sun.

The painting helped launch Wyeth’s highly successful and influential career as an illustrator, capped by a defining commission: paintings for more than two dozen volumes of classic literature, including “Treasure Island” and “The Last of the Mohicans.” These works capture Wyeth’s gift for creating dramatic compositions that thrust the viewer into the middle of the action.

N.C. Wyeth’s story isn’t complete – or doesn’t even begin – without Howard Pyle, the illustrator and teacher who left an indelible impression on Wyeth’s life and work.

Many more connections between students and their teachers are on display in “Keepers of the Flame.” It’s easy to assume that Maxfield Parrish invented his trademark use of luminous, otherworldly light in his fanciful motifs, but the truth is more complicated than that.

Parrish’s “Solitude” captures two women in pastoral repose, as the canyon walls behind them glow with the rays of an unseen setting sun. “Solitude” hangs near “A Studio Study” by Thomas Anshutz, an American painter and a mentor to Parrish. In the painting, a woman reads, and again it seems as though she may be lit by a fire we cannot see. Her book, her blouse and her face glow with the same luminous orange-red color that became a defining characteristic of “Solitude,” painted 20 years later. Parrish may have perfected the technique, but he may have learned it from others.

The exhibit includes many iconic works by Parrish, including “Interlude” and “The Storm.” More than a century later, the lanterns in “The Lantern Bearers” still glow, but you can’t help but wonder just how incandescent they must have been on the day that Parrish completed them.

And then there’s the guy who’s throwing this party, Norman Rockwell. It’s impossible to tell the story of American illustrators without leaving plenty of wall space for Rockwell. At a time when everyone from Kylie Kardashian to Tom Brady seems obsessed with “branding,” Rockwell achieved it organically. The covers Rockwell painted for the Saturday Evening Post brought the illustrative tradition quite literally into mainstream living rooms. They are iconic images of a Main Street America that may or may not have ever existed.

In the exhibit, however, I find that I keep returning to “Heart’s dearest, why do you cry?” Painted mid-career, it’s a strangely alluring image that Rockwell created for a biography of Louisa May Alcott. The intentions of the man – his back mostly turned to us – are hidden and mysterious. The expression on the face of Jo (from “Little Women”) is subtler and more complex than mere sadness. The painting evokes none of the sentimentality that both elevated and shackled Rockwell in the defining years of his career.

Comprised of about 60 works, “Keepers of the Flame” is a perfectly sized and thoroughly engrossing exhibit that allows you to absorb it on your terms. Come and enjoy the beautiful paintings, or dig deeper at the themes explored by curator Nolan. Come see the Rockwell artwork that helped define America for your parents and grandparents, and along the way you’ll gain a new appreciation for other illustrators of wildly contrasting styles. Come for Rockwell and his “Saying Grace.” Leave with a newfound appreciation for “Solitude” and “The Scythers,” Parrish and Wyeth.

“Keepers of the Flame: Parrish, Wyeth, Rockwell, and the Narrative Tradition”

WHEN: Through Oct. 26

WHERE: Norman Rockwell Museum, 9 Glendale Road, Stockbridge

HOURS: Open year-round. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through October; until 7 p.m. Thursdays in August. November through April, hours are 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. weekdays, till 5 p.m. on weekends and holidays. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day

ADMISSION: $20 adults, $18 seniors 65+, $17 veterans, $10 college students with ID; free for under age 18 and members